The Quebec provincial government, currently led by the Parti-Quebecois (PQ), has ordered Quebec school boards to make $100 million in budget cuts over the next two years. This is the latest development in what has become a relentless back and forth between provincial policy makers and school officials. It is[Read More…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
SSMU conduct on General Assembly an abdication of duty
Last Wednesday’s Fall General Assembly (GA) of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) was once again marred by staggeringly low attendance. At its peak, the assembly only managed about 50 attendees attendees—far from its 100-member quorum. The apparent absence of an engagement campaign leading up to the event was[Read More…]
The paradox of privilege
The phrase “check your privilege” has been bounced around a lot over the last year at McGill. Take the example of class. Suppose someone says something along the lines of “poor people need to work harder” and their peers will quickly remind them that they need to keep their “privilege[Read More…]
Letter: Not a time to push panic buttons
Tuesday’s “Campus Conversation” item in the Tribune features four students offering their opinions on whether McGill is in decline. The range of responses covered the entire spectrum: definitely, maybe, maybe not, not really. I applaud the fact that our students take the future of our institution seriously. I also applaud[Read More…]
A campus conversation: Is McGill in decline?
Editor's Note In this week's edition of the Campus Conversation series, we convene voices from across McGill to answer the question: Is McGill in decline? The debate sparked on campus in the wake of McGill's noticeable drop in the QS World University Rankings in September left many wondering if the[Read More…]
Asbestos conference not a solution to corporate-funded research
Last Tuesday, McGill hosted the “Asbestos: Dialogue for the Future” conference, a full-day symposium on McGill’s role in asbestos research, asbestos as a substance, and the broader role of corporate funding in the university environment. The conference was the result of one of the recommendations made in a 2012 internal[Read More…]
Faculty of Arts gets short shrift
It may have been two weeks ago, but announcements at the first meeting of the Faculty of Arts Committee concerning the Teaching and Learning Spaces (TLS) budget remain on my mind. At this meeting, Associate Dean Gillian Lane-Mercier announced the results from the TLS working group. For the 2014-2015 year,[Read More…]
Taken: laptop theft on campus
There’s a strange feeling that comes with having something stolen. Two years ago, my phone was stolen as I was getting on a train home for reading week. Because I had a new contract and needed a phone, I had to pay $500 out of pocket to replace the stolen[Read More…]
The Blackberry slump
Blackberry, the Canadian tech giant that once led global smartphone sales, has experienced a steep decline over the past three years. The company’s employees are facing huge layoffs, and its stock has dwindled below $9 per share. Despite this dismal deterioration—or perhaps because of it—Blackberry’s largest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings,[Read More…]
Mental health programs demand further action, awareness
On Thursday, Sept. 19, McGill rescinded the one-time $20 fee to access its Mental Health Services (MHS), a decision that came in the wake of negative feedback about the added financial burden to users of those services. We applaud the responsiveness this decision demonstrates on the part of the university.[Read More…]
